Republic Saga - Alliances, Chapter Eight
by Noggins
Summary: With the shields down the Republic strikes while Mara tries to escape Thrawn for the second time. Will her feelings stop her again?


Title: Republic Saga - Alliances, Chapter Eight  
  
Author: Jonathan Evans  
  
Author email: noggins@btinternet.com  
  
Republic Saga Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/republicsaga  
  
Summary: With the shields down the Republic strikes while Mara tries  
to escape Thrawn for the second time. Will her feelings stop her again?  
  
REPUBLIC SAGA  
ALLIANCES  
CHAPTER EIGHT  
  
For the second time Mara found herself at the lowest she  
could possibly go. Wandering through the old, seedy district  
of Coruscant she found herself at the home of Zsan Treil,  
the Jedi woman who had protected her but found herself on  
the wrong side of Maul's lightsaber. The door was left ajar  
and she pushed it open slightly to look inside.  
  
In the corner of the room was a figure rummaging through  
the ancient human's artifacts, throwing unwanted items  
across the room, often smashing the more fragile ones  
on the wall. Finding something that was wanted the strangely  
familiar being pocketed it. Mara put her hand around the  
hilt of her lightsaber and slowly moved in.  
  
She hadn't been seen yet noted by the broken datapad  
flying aimlessly through the air but finding itself on  
a collision course with her head. Using the Force she  
made it stop in its motion. After several seconds the  
figure turned around, noticing that the pad hadn't made  
a crashing sound on the floor. His eyes were filled with  
fear as he saw the item he had just hurled floating as  
if held by an invisible force.  
  
Mara realised who it was. The mad old man from the cantina  
who claimed to be a Jedi when being accidentally bumped.  
He obviously remembered who she was and tried to make  
an escape. As he ran he found the datapad fly in front  
of his face and shatter on the wall. "If you want that  
to be your head," Mara informed him. "I'd not move."  
  
"The woman is dead," the 'Jedi' stammered. "She couldn't  
use any of this. I could."  
"For what? To sell it on the black market? Making money  
out of other's poverty?"  
"Jedi don't do that. I am a Jedi. As are you, it seems."  
  
The Emperor's Hand walked in front of the old man and  
pushed him gently against the wall with her finger.  
She wasn't showing any violence but it was more than  
enough for her companion to realise she wouldn't hesitate  
in doing so if she had to. "Actually, my dear, unknowing  
friend, I am a Sith." He started to panic, trying to   
shimmy away from her put soon noticed an arm was blocking his  
path. He threw the bag of loot to the floor before finding  
himself there too. He looked as if he was about to beg  
for mercy.  
  
"I'm so sorry. Don't kill me. I'm not really a Jedi."  
"I knew that."  
"You did? Then you'll let me go?"  
Her booted foot came down on his hand that over confidently  
let itself rest on the floor. The old man let out a howl.  
"You may not be a Jedi but I'm still a Sith. The woman  
who lived here taught me the Black Arts and I will not  
have anyone trying to bury her memory into the ground  
before she is even dead two days."  
  
The man finally caved in. Tears started coming from his  
eyes as he fell limp and weak in fear for his life. Mara  
lifted him up by his collar. "You will put everything  
back in its place. I will be back to ensure that  
nothing is moved. If it is you will be the first person  
I destroy."  
"Wh... What if someone else does it?"  
"You're going to make sure that they don't."  
"Oh-okay. I'm sorry. Thank you... thank you for sparing  
me."  
  
"So you should be." Mara went to the man's belt and  
took the lightsaber hanging from his side. Just as  
she'd noted during their last encounter it was broken  
and possibly beyond repair, the durasteel shell rusting  
in places. She put it on her belt and dragged the  
thief out of the house and shut the door behind her. With  
one move she threw him through the air until he landed  
on the floor with a thud.  
  
For the first time Mara smiled as she watched him run  
away as fast as his legs could carry him. No one would  
harm Zsan's possesions now.  
  
Then it happened. Shrapnel began to fall from the sky  
like rain. Mara glanced upwards to see battles taking  
place between Republic and Imperial fighter, laser  
blasts flying in all direction and... bombs. B-wings  
were focusing on the control centres but some of  
their missiles were not quite hitting the targets  
they were meant to as some found themselves heading  
into the slum districts. One exploded in the cantina  
next to her. Two Wookies outside were caught in the  
blast which sent Mara flying through the air. She  
managed to land on her feet but realised others were  
not so lucky.  
  
"Screw this," she muttered to herself as she ran towards  
the docking bay she had left her private starship  
after she last came to the planet. It had been a long  
time and she could only hope that it hadn't been  
stolen. At first the high pitched sound behind her  
meant nothing but as it became louder she realised  
there was more to this than she thought. Whipping around  
with her lightsaber activated, Mara Jade found herself  
face to face with a concussion missile headed straight  
for her.  
  
********  
  
Leia led her father and the rest of the group to the  
designated landing point for the rescue shuttle but it  
soon became evident that they were going nowhere. The  
air battles rained around them and there was still no  
sight of their salvation.  
  
Anakin pondered the situation. "We're going to have to  
find some other escape route out of here. Any idea  
where they keep starships on this planet?" He knew  
the answer before he finished his question. On a  
skyscraper just opposite them sat a rather shiny  
looking Nubian vessel that reminded of the Naboo  
Royal Starship that... she had. Why couldn't he get  
to terms with her death? It had been so long ago and  
now he had a daughter he never thought he had. Why was  
the memory of the goddess-like queen so hard to accept?  
  
He brought himself to, shaking his head back into motion.  
The ship was aged and had quite a few modification, a  
series of blaster cannons salvaged from something  
more Correllian but he wasn't going to complain. He took  
out his laser sword. "Cover me!" With a huge leap he  
made the gap between the buildings as Keylar, Lando  
and Narril fired at any fighters that would have interfered  
with his attempt.  
  
On the other side, Skywalker forced the sliding door open and  
entered. It was dirt and obviously hadn't been used in  
quite some time. The license must have run out years  
previously and the owner wasn't able to afford to register  
it again. Right now, whether or not it was legal to fly  
by Imperial standards wasn't his problem as he raced to  
the cockpit to start up the engines.  
  
Upon pressing several buttons it did just that but with more  
of a stutter than a roar but that wasn't exactly important  
since, as long as they got them off the ground, they  
would be fine.  
  
********  
  
Keylar watched as the impressive vehicle lifted off and  
headed towards them, the door open enough for them  
to jump onto the landing ramp and to safety. Keylar  
prepared for the leap, his legs bending slowly.  
  
Just then a piece of the nearby building broke  
loose and headed for the hull of the starship. With  
a loud crack, the shields blocked it in time and, in  
slightly more fragments, it fell down to the parts  
of the city below.  
  
The Mandalore jumped up and scrambled into the cargo  
hold. Lando and Narril were soon after followed by  
Leia whose Jedi dexterity allowed her to make it  
much easier than the others.  
  
"I'm going to catch up with my father. We should get  
us off this dump." She disappeared through a set  
of sliding double doors as the brothers and the  
Mandalore staring out over the battlefield until the  
landing ramp blocked their view. "Strange, isn't it,"  
Lando commented. "We're leaving the planet so we  
can take it over. I'll never work out Ackbar's  
mentality."  
  
********  
  
  
Admiral Dasson looked at the viewscreen where Thrawn's  
face was barking orders to him. "I will be taking my  
private shuttle and meeting with you. Ensure that  
the fleet does not evacuate to hyperspace until I am  
safely aboard."  
"Yes, my Lord," the nervous officer replied. Was this  
the time to tell the Emperor that they had captured  
a Republic pilot? Realising it would put him in a  
slightly better mood than the one he was currently  
in, Dasson voted yes. "And another thing..."  
"Yes?"  
"An enemy pilot was captured and is currently in the  
holding cells. We haven't got anything but his  
name, rank and number but that's enough to tell us  
he could be useful to us."  
"Excellent. I look forward to meeting him."  
"Yes sir."  
  
The face disappeared only to be replaced with the view  
of the stars and the battle going on outside. The Empire  
seemed to have the upper hand against the Republic  
fleet but with the capital of the galaxy below soon to be  
under the control of the enemy they were definately  
going to be the losers in this battle. It was only  
best to cut their losses and get out while they could.  
This, despite what impression he gad to give to the people  
under his command, was what Captain Dasson had wanted  
from the start. He didn't believe in Thrawn. Hell, he  
didn't really agree with Palpatine and his obsession  
with sorcery. All Petri Dasson wanted was to maintain  
order. He was brought up to believe in order and it  
was his god given right to ensure that everyone else  
did to. If it meant killing the occasional anarchist  
then so be it.  
  
Dasson walked to the front of the bridge where his first  
officer was looking out into space where TIE fighters of  
all kinds - standard, Interceptor, bomber - were going  
head-to-head with their Republic counterparts.  
"You heard our orders?" Dasson asked.  
"Yes sir," Commander Rellith replied. "Evacuation is  
our only bet. It will give us time to regain our  
forces and come back even stronger."  
Dasson was forced to agree. "Indeed. Our problem is  
the very battlefield. It's our property, at the moment  
that is, and therefore we immediately find ourselves  
on the defensive. When we're here next the tables will  
be turned."  
  
********  
  
Mara swifty sliced forward and somersaulted backwards as  
the explosion ripped through the street but to a lesser  
extent than it would have if not for her. Before she  
could accept the thanks of those she had saved she started  
running towards the only safe place. Her starship was  
definately not far from here.  
  
She jumped over the rubble of a collapsed building,  
ignoring the helpless aliens trapped underneath and  
picked up her pace more to avoid further rubble falling  
from the sky. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a  
spark and looked up to see a sleek, shiny starship taking  
off from a landing platform some miles above. She knew  
the Skywalkers were there but had to remain focused.  
  
There it was! In a hidden garage just ahead. Mara made it  
to the entrance and entered her authorisation code and...  
nothing. She'd been blocked out. She'd paid for two years  
rental. The passwords should still be active unless someone  
had changed them.  
  
With that the door opened. Despite the darkness Mara  
could see there was someone in here, someone she didn't  
want to see at this precise moment in time. Darth Maul  
sneered. "Why do you bother, my dear Emperor's Hand.  
Every time you try to escape I will always be there to  
capture you again. It is your duty to Thrawn that prevents  
me from destroying you here. Strange, isn't it?"  
The young woman frowned bitterly. "I wouldn't know."  
"But don't think you'll be going on any more jobs for  
him this time. The only reason he wants you is to..."  
a smile covered the Sith Lord's lips. "...punish you."  
"I'd like to see him try."  
"He'll do more than try."  
  
Maul whipped out his lightsaber but before Mara could  
react the handle collided with her skull. She heard a  
loud crack from within and just before she passed out  
noticed blood trickling down the side of her face.  
  
********  
  
Anakin sat alone in the cockpit to the starship they  
had just borrowed. All sorts of thoughts went through his  
mind as he controlled the vessel further towards the  
atmosphere and out of the range of any attacking fighters.  
Why did he let Thrawn go? He could have fought - to the  
death if necessary. Why did he get so afraid? And... and  
just the thought of Her made him shut down. How could it  
be possible that he couldn't accept the death of his  
wife that occured over twenty years ago?  
  
"Father, we're safely aboard."  
Anakin turned around quickly as if he wasn't expecting  
Leia to walk in on him. The Force should have alerted  
him to her presence. He was getting stronger with  
each day that passed. Of course. He was too distracted.  
He calmed down before spoke again. "I'm glad to hear that.  
Shall we rejoin the fleet?"  
"Couldn't think of anything I'd like more," his daughter  
smiled as she took a place next to him. "Let's get going!"  
  
********  
  
Mara hit the ground with a thud and finally came to, although  
still a little groggy. The first thing she saw as her eyes began  
to focus again were two leather-booted feet. She looked  
up and squinted to see Thrawn looking down on her. A frown  
covered his face. "You betrayed me Mara Jade," he hissed  
in a voice completely different to the one Mara had last  
heard him speak with. It was more... familiar.  
"Master?" she asked.  
Thrawn held out his hand and Mara felt herself being lifted  
to her feet by the Force until she was at eye level with the  
emperor. "I trained you to serve me. You were meant to  
follow my orders without question."  
"I - I didn't know it was you. I thought..."  
"You thought it was Thrawn. That would be acceptible if  
you were anyone but the Emperor's Hand. You should know  
me from the other side of the galaxy."  
  
He dropped Mara to the floor again. When she tried to  
get up she was pushed down by another foot - that of  
Maul. He was getting some perverse pleasure out of his  
treatment of her and the more Mara noticed the more  
her anger got out of control with no way to work it off.  
"I tried to follow your last orders..."  
"I changed my orders to you. Leia Skywalker is to be mine.  
She is to be my apprentice... my new Hand."  
  
Maul, with one strong push, took Mara to the ground completely.  
He held her down with his foot as he spoke to his master.  
"And what is to become of... this?"  
"She will be punished. I am a forgiving person, Mara, but  
you have gone beyond even my generosity." He smiled but  
realised that it made the age show even more on his  
face. He gave a quick glance to the Dark Lord. "Bring her  
into my shuttle."  
  
The Sith picked Mara from the floor and dragged her up  
the landing ramp of Thrawn's personal shuttle all the  
while wondering what he would be refered to in the future.  
Thrawn or Palaptine. But more importantly, where would  
he stand if Skywalker's daughter became his replacement.  
  
********  
  
"I'm getting a communication from Admiral Ackbar," Leia  
informed her father as a indicator on her console began  
to flash uncontrolably. "Shall I respond?"  
Anakin frowned. "I'd rather we waited until we got back  
to base before we tell him anything. He's already got  
enough against the Jedi as it is. He may start firing  
on us if we tell him we failed."  
  
Leia nodded with a smile. She rejected the call and  
took over the sensors again. Within seconds another  
emergency stopped her from relaxing. "Father, there's  
an Imperial shuttle coming up behind us. It's weapons  
are active."  
"Palpatine!" Anakin hissed as looked at a nearby viewscreen.  
He began to charge up their weapons. "Last time I flew  
one of these babies it didn't have much in the way of  
blasters. Looks like we're about to see the tables turned."  
"You're suggesting we attack? After you stopped us from  
taking him on back at the Temple? Are you sure that's  
such a good idea?"  
  
The starship shook as a blast hit it. The determination  
in the old Jedi's eyes increased fourfold. "You bet it's  
a good idea."  
  
********  
  
The Nubian designed ship span around on its axis until it  
was facing the Imperial shuttle. Three shots rang out as  
the laser blasts hit the quickly approaching vessel. Inside  
Maul staggered across the cargo hold and collided with the  
wall. Mara jumped to her feet and flew at him, her foot  
causing a loud crack in his ribs. As if he didn't feel  
any pain, the Sith grabbed her leg and threw her to the floor.  
"You shouldn't have tried that, Jade. I could very easily kill  
you right her."  
"Go ahead."  
  
Maul ignited one end of his lightsaber and stabbed down at  
Mara's face, only stopping just before the skin. He  
laughed. "You'd like that wouldn't you? For me to kill  
you before our master can torture you. I didn't credit  
your intelligence enough."  
"You need some yourself to be able to do that."  
  
A growl came from deep down Maul's throat as he tried  
to resist using his anger and killing her where she  
lay. Another shot hit them.  
  
********  
  
Leia began to panic. "Father! Their shields are much stronger  
than ours. We can't take any more shots! You said yourself,  
we'll have a better chance when we meet them next!"  
Anakin seemed determined. He switched the weapons to proton  
torpedoes and held his thumb above the trigger. He said  
nothing in reply to his daughter.  
"You can't use them at such close range! We'll be destroyed  
too and what good would..."  
"There is no death, there is the Force!"  
Leia shouted out her next words without even thinking about  
them. "Mara's on board that ship!"  
  
Anakin turned around. "What?" The Shuttle flew passed them  
and into space. With a flash it entered hyperspace and  
disappeared. The elder Skywalker looked annoyed. "They  
got away." His daughter said nothing but he could sense  
the relief she felt.  
  
********  
  
"Today a great victory has been won," Mon Mothma said in  
broadcadt that could been seen all over the galaxy. She  
stood in the centre of the Galactic Senate as hundreds of  
camera droids from every holo-network circled her. "The  
Republic once again has control over Coruscant. From this  
strong vantage point we will be able to maintain control  
over the galaxy and ensure that peace is finally restored  
after the regime of the Empire. It will be hard and will  
take a very long time but all I request is that the former  
Republic worlds meet once more in the Senate in order to  
sign the New Republic Treaty. It has been a long, hard  
journey and it is not over yet. Thank you."  
  
The holograph disappeared and Hela Zapalo looked over at  
Adi Gallia. "Yet some worlds will never be able to return."  
"Naboo lives on in the hearts of its survivors, Hela. It  
is your job to ensure it never dies out as Palpatine wanted."  
  
Kas Grendor spoke up for the first time since Mothma began  
her speech. "There was no mention of the Jedi," he informed  
the rest of the Council. "I feel she is afraid to talk of  
us. There are too many people like Ackbar in the Republic."  
"As the Chancellor said herself, the journey is not over  
yet," Master Yarled stated.  
  
Gallia nodded. "Nonetheless I still fear that we will not  
be properly represented in the Senate."  
  
********  
  
Leia had settled into her quarters on Coruscant in an area  
that had not been seriously damaged in the attack. Her father  
had recommended a nearby nightclub that he claimed to  
have frequented when he was still an apprentice but she  
didn't feel like joining the celebrations that were  
starting there.  
  
The lights in her room were off so she quickly noticed  
the blue glow which signified her brother's presence.  
She turned to look at Luke's shimmering spirits and  
noticed the smile on his face. "Palpatine is gone  
and the light has returned. I have missed you, sister."  
Leia smiled jokingly. "You'll never guess what my day  
was like."  
"Actually I was with you at all times. It was painful  
not being able to show myself but the darkness was too  
much. I couldn't project myself."  
"Well I'm glad you can now. Father is having problems  
in dealing with letting Palpatine go yet at the same  
time he was the one who suggested we do so."  
  
Luke nodded. "He has a lot to deal with. You must remeber  
he lost much of his life trying to be Boba Fett, the loss  
of his powers didn't help. They are returning yet he can  
no longer control them. Give him time."  
"I guess so," Leia replied. "He did question my reasons  
for letting Palpatine go. He thinks my feelings for  
Mara Jade are blinding me to my mission."  
"And what are your feelings towards her?"  
"I... I don't know," the Jedi princess whispered loud  
enough for her brother to hear. "She wants to kill me  
yet she can't bring herself to. I want to help her but  
father doesn't understand that."  
"So you understand that the time will come when you  
must face her. If she has got over her initial  
apprenhension and is willing to destroy you, will  
you be prepared to do the same?"  
"I am ready to face her, Luke."  
"That wasn't what I asked."  
"I know."  
  
THE END.... FOR NOW  
To be continued in Republic Saga - Betrayal beginning very soon! 


End file.
